Hayden hotel developers want discounted tap fees

The developers who want to build a hotel in Hayden want the Hayden Town Council to consider giving them discounted tap fees.

The town council will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Town staff members will give their reports at 7 p.m.

According to the packet for the meeting, the developers submitted their development plans to the town Feb. 9, which raised some confusion over an incentive plan that the town offered to potential hotel developers in 2013.

The town had offered about $330,000 in tax rebates over a four-year period. But the developers also believed their was a tap fee discount. After reviewing the 2013 incentive agreement, the town has determined that the town did not offer a discount on tap fees estimated to be $234,696.

After recently meeting with the developers, town staff decided they were not in favor of discounted tax fees.

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Instead, the town staff is recommending the tap fee payment be delayed until the hotel is ready to open. They are also recommending that the council add an additional year to the tax incentive package.

The council will consider approving the plan during their meeting.

The town recognizes a hotel would be a big boost to economic development.

In an email to the town, developer Logan Marienau wrote that they were hoping to break ground on the new hotel, but they need the town to be openminded and reduce the amount of risk that investors are taking.

"We perceive this to be a risky investment which can be shown by the lack of interest from any outside or local investor," Marienau wrote. "We believe the town of Hayden needs to view this project as a long-term investment and see that the potential property tax, sales tax and traffic to Hayden outweighs the initial fees."